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The wife of former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney didn't hold back when asked whether she wished her family had been able to move into the White House.

"I have to tell you very honestly that I'm very frustrated because I know Mitt would have been a fantastic president," Ann Romney said on a joint appearance with her husband on CBS This Morning. "He is an amazing leader. He has great executive experience and it is frustrating for me to sit by and watch."

When asked whether he might make another run at the presidency, Mitt Romney started by saying: "It was a fabulous experience. I loved it..."

That's as far as he got before Ann put her hands on both sides of his head and made him shake his head no.

Mitt Romney laughed and said "look at that" before wrapping up his answer by saying about another national campaign: "We are not doing that again."

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Keeping Hatch sharp • Sen. Orrin Hatch invited a Tribune reporter into a senators-only elevator the other day to continue his conversation on judicial nominees when Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., jumped in for a ride as well.

"It keeps you humble," countered the Illinois Democrat, who then thought better of his answer. "Well, that's too big of an assignment."

Hatch then retorted: "Listen to this. Listen to who's talking."

Both senators chuckled as they left the elevator for a short train ride to the Senate floor. Congress may be mired in gridlock and partisan squabbles these days but at least the sides are talking.

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'The hick from Utah' • Rep. Dana Rohrbacher took to the House floor last week to discuss the ongoing debate over reforming the patent system and Example No. 1 for him was the inventor of the television, Utahn Philo T. Farnsworth.

"He is a man in Utah who invented the picture tube. RCA didn't invent it. RCA tried to steal it from him," Rohrbacher said.

But Farnsworth, who grew up in Beaver County, took his case to the Supreme Court, which the congressman added, "sided with this one lower-income individual.

"There is a statue in our Congress to Philo Farnsworth, the inventor," Rohrbacher added. "There is no statue to Mr. Sarnoff, who headed RCA and tried to steal that from him, knowing that he was stealing somebody else's invention so he wouldn't have to give credit to this hick from Utah."

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Praising Cramer • Lew Cramer, the president of the World Trade Center of Utah, is retiring after years of helping businesses in the Beehive State sell goods across the globe. Hatch inserted a tribute to his buddy into the Congressional Record recently and rattled off Cramer's accomplishments.

Morning email • Snack on Political Cornflakes, our morning dish of political news. Email cornflakes@sltrib.com to join our mailing list or follow us on Twitter @SLTribPolitics and check back at http://www.politicalcornflakes.com for regular updates. Burr and Canham report from Washington, D.C. They can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or mcanham@sltrib.com or via Twitter @thomaswburr or @mattcanham.